Table of contents for 2021-05-04 in Cape Times

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The RAND clawed back some losses yesterday after weakening to a two-week low as optimism around vaccine deliveries offset traders’ concerns while data showed the manufacturing sector in South Africa experienced slowing growth in production in April. After starting the trade at R14.50 to the dollar, the rand rose 0.11 percent to R14.39 against the greenback at 5pm. On Sunday, South Africa received its first batch of Pfizer vaccines consisting of 325 000 doses. More shipments are expected in the coming weeks to make a total of 1.3 million by the end of the month and 4.5 million by June. TreasuryONE’s currency specialist Andre Cilliers said the rand had pared gains on Friday due to the US dollar rallying back following better-than-expected growth numbers. Cilliers said the…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MORE THAN 35 million MTN Nigeria subscribers have submitted their national identification numbers (NINs), representing more than half the company’s subscriber base and 63 percent of its service revenue, the company said yesterday. Commenting on the company’s operational results for the quarter to the end of March, MTN Nigeria chief executive Karl Toriola said yesterday that the company continued to collaborate with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Identity Management Commission to update subscriber records with NINs. The Nigerian telecommunications industry was rocked by the NCC’s de- cision to suspend the sale and activation of new SIM cards in December as part of a policy that requires mobile operators to integrate their subscribers’ NINs with their SIM registration details. Toriola said that following…

SANDILE MCHUNU sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za FIRST National Bank (FNB) said yesterday that it had been made aware of a criminal complaint relating to a banking relationship with a client, EOH Holdings, after Transform RSA laid criminal charges of corruption and money laundering against the bank. FNB has been accused by Transform RSA of continuing to provide banking facilities to EOH Holdings despite the company admitting to corrupt activities in its organisation. However, FNB said it would evaluate the complaint after receiving more information and, where required, respond through the relevant channels. “As a reputable financial services provider, FNB endeavours to ensure that its bank accounts are utilised and managed in compliance with the relevant laws,” the bank said. Transform RSA president Adil Nchabeleng maintained that FNB and other South African banks were…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za AS THE second term of the 2021 academic year kicked off at schools across the country yesterday, some learners entered the classroom for the first time this year while others are still waiting for placement. By last Friday, more than 900 learners were still unplaced in the Western Cape. However, according to provincial Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond, most of these learners were allocated to schools. She said district officials contacted parents over the weekend to confirm this, and the children were expected to report to school yesterday and during the course of the week. “The department is on track to resolve all of the remaining placement cases on the system. We are aware that these learners have missed a full term of work, and lesson packs…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za NEARLY three years after a deadly blast at the Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) factory killed eight people, the public inquiry got under way in Macassar yesterday, with the panel hearing that “a series of events that led to the most probable cause of the explosion can be reconstructed”. The week-long inquiry is being chaired by Employment and Labour inspector Mphumzi Dyulete. Nico Samuels, 41, team leader Stevon Isaacs, 51, operators Mxolisi Sigadla, 40, Bradley Tandy, 19, Jamie Haydricks, 24, Jason Hartzenberg, 22, Triston David, 22, and Thandolwethu Mankayi, 27, were remembered before proceedings got under way. The inquiry was attended by family members of the eight, and representatives and legal representatives from RMD. Safety and environment manager Thembeka Ganda took to the stand, saying that there was…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za STELLENBOSCH University students gathered at the Academia Hall yesterday evening to pay tribute to their friend and leader, Nomzamo Buthelezi during a memorial service. Later in the night, a vigil in honour of Buthelezi was held at Rooiplein, where people shared experiences they had had with her. Buthelezi was killed in a suspected hit-and-run incident on Sunday. Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said a culpable homicide case was opened for investigation and the circumstances leading to the incident where the 22-year-old died due to her injuries were being probed. “Our detectives are following up on all leads, no arrest as yet,” he said. Buthelezi, also fondly known as Nomtry, was a final year BSc (Human Life Sciences) student from Boksburg, Gauteng, who lived in a senior residence…

Staff writer THE end of the 12th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was marked yesterday, just three months after the first case was reported in North Kivu. The outbreak that re-emerged in February came nine months after another outbreak in the same province was declared over. The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated the country’s health authorities and the heath workers on the ground for their swift response, which built on previous experience in tackling Ebola outbreaks. This outbreak is the country’s fourth in less than three years. Eleven confirmed cases and one probable case, six deaths and six recoveries were recorded in four health zones in North Kivu since February 7, when the Ministry of Health announced the resurgence of Ebola in Butembo, a city…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za CRIMINAL charges are racking up against alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack, after he made an appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Modack, who was arrested last week after a high-speed chase near Century City, is expected to appear again in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court this morning with a police officer as a co-accused in a separate case, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila. Yesterday Modack, 39, appeared in court with two other co-accused – Jacques Cronje, 50, and Ricardo Morgan, 36 – with a heavily armed police presence comprising officers from the SAPS Anti-Gang and Public Order Police units. Ntabazalila confirmed that the trio face a number of charges, with more charges expected to be added. “The three accused face charges of intimidation,…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE DA has confirmed that it has referred the matter regarding alleged discrepancies over the Saldanha Bay municipality mayor’s degree for investigation. This comes after Good Party member Sammy Claassen in a press statement yesterday continued to question the legitimacy of mayor Marius Koen’s MBA he is said to have attained at the University of Hull in the UK. DA spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube said: “The Marius Koen matter has been referred to the Federal Legal Commission for investigation.” The matter also comes on the back of former transport MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela having resigned from the DA after he was suspended for claiming he had a degree he did not have, resulting in a number of other party members, including chief whip Natasha Mazzone and MEC for Human…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za MORE than 60 unemployed young people have been recruited by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) to receive training that will offer workplace experience. The police watchdog, in collaboration with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), launched its first-ever learnership programme yesterday. It is aimed at providing employment opportunities and workplace exposure for young people to ultimately acquire the National Certificate Vocational Level 4. The recruits will be placed at Ipid offices in all nine provinces and also at its head office in Pretoria, where they will capture dockets into the system and also work at the toll-free centres to record complaints from citizens. Ipid executive director Jennifer Ntlatseng said to date the directorate had collaborated with the NYDA, Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority,…

The IFP welcomes and supports the release of the report by the High-Level Panel (HLP) “to review policies, regulatory measures, practices and policy positions that are related to hunting, trade, captive keeping, management and handling of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros”. The IFP has been campaigning against the issue of captive-bred lion hunting since 2014, and IFP MP, the late Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, addressed the first Global March Against Canned Lion Hunting in March 2014. The issue has since been taken up and championed by myself as the spokesperson on Environmental Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries. I facilitated viewing of the documentary Blood Lions for the parliamentary environmental portfolio committee, which was then chaired by late Honourable Jackson Mthembu, who later ascended to being Minister in the Presidency. The IFP has consistently…

Northern Ireland marked its centenary yesterday under coronavirus restrictions, simmering post-Brexit unrest and a leadership crisis marring the anniversary in the British-ruled province. Northern Ireland, home to 1.9 million people, was created in 1921 as Ireland freed itself from British rule following a war for independence. Commemoration events have been cancelled due to Covid-19 curbs and the weeks leading up to the anniversary have witnessed the worst rioting in the region for years. First Minister Arlene Foster last Wednesday announced her resignation after a reported coup in her Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), where rancour is brewing over the consequences of Brexit. Northern Ireland has been bitterly contested between pro-UK unionists and pro-Ireland nationalists, who do not recognise its legitimacy and regard May 3 as the anniversary of the unjust…

Prominent Asian-American business leaders launched a $250 million (about R3.5 billion) initiative yesterday to support an array of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) causes, vowing to create a national infrastructure for a community that has faced an increasing number of racial attacks. The Asian American Foundation will invest its initial funding – described by organisers as the largest- ever philanthropic effort to support the AAPI community – in three key areas: anti-hate programmes, education, and data and research. The foundation’s board, which has committed $125m over five years, is chaired by Li Lu, founder of hedge fund Himalaya Capital, and includes billionaires Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo, and Joseph Tsai, co-founder of Alibaba Group Holding, among other executives. Companies such as Coca-Cola Co, Walmart Inc, Citigroup Inc, Amazon.com…

YANGON: The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of Myanmar’s most powerful rebel groups, said yesterday it had shot down a helicopter after returning fire following air strikes by the military, a group official said. The UN estimates that tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes amid fighting between the military and ethnic minority insurgents in remote northern and eastern frontier regions. The conflict intensified after Myanmar’s generals ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi in February. The helicopter was shot down around at a village in Kachin province. A resident said four people died in hospital after artillery shells hit a monastery. | Reuters…

Liverpool: Thousands danced without face coverings at a music festival in northern England as the British government permitted the country’s first post-lockdown gig. A crowd of 5 000 people cheered, danced and sang along to performances from bands including English indie pop act Blossoms at the sold-out event at Liverpool’s Sefton Park. The festival was part of a pilot project by the British government called the Events Research Programme to test crowd safety at live events. All those attending had to take lateral flow Covid-19 tests before entering the venue and another test afterwards. | AFP…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za PPC HAS SOLD its PPC Lime operation as part of a restructuring project to Kgatelopele Lime, a new company that has Swiss mining and minerals resources group IMR Group as a major shareholder, for R515 million. PPC plans to use the net proceeds of R500m to degear PPC’s South African balance sheet. In terms of the restructuring project, PPC’s South African lenders agreed to review the need for a R750m group capital raise if the South African businesses continue to degear towards sustainable debt levels. PPC’s share price gained 3.7 percent to R3.10 yesterday morning. The share has risen steadily from a 12-month low of 43 cents early in November, after the group in the meantime reported relatively robust double-digit cement product sales. Kgatelopele Lime…

AFRICAN Equity Empowerment Invest- ments (AEEI) said yesterday it would keep its shareholders abreast of any further developments arising from the withdrawal of transactional banking facilities at one of its major subsidiaries AYO Technology Solutions, a statement said. AYO on Friday withdrew a cautionary notice to shareholders and said its application for an urgent interdict against FNB, pending the hearing of its main application, was struck off the roll for lack of urgency and alternative third-party payment solutions for AYO had been put in place which would ensure continuity of its business. AYO said the action by FNB primarily affected the transactional bank accounts held by AYO Technology Solutions itself and one other AYO subsidiary that had an alternative transactional banking service provider. Therefore, other than these account closures, no…

Human minds have been designed in such a way that our focus often goes towards what we do not have, or on what is not going well and seldom on what is going well, or what we have, and that is how worry and fear creep in. It could be our health, home as a shelter, jobs, children or relationships, surroundings, access to clean food, or nature; there is so much in everyone's life to offer a little bit of gratitude for every single day. In fact, gratitude is powerful and said to be one of the quickest ways to feel happier. But what if you are struggling to find things to be grateful for? What if your gratitude doesn’t come easily to you? And even if you do find…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za CAPE Town-created short film Two Hues continues to make waves on the global stage, having clinched the “Best Women Empowerment Film” award at the Berlin Short Film Festival at the weekend. It was the film’s third international award since its release on the film festival circuit in January. Last month, it was awarded a best director prize in London. Co-directed by Weaam Williams and Dominique Roxanne Jossie, the film centres on gender-based violence, and the emotional and mental trauma caused by it. Lead character Natasa conveys the narrative as a bipolar photographer, who is a silent victim of rape. “The film is testimony to the challenges faced by women in South Africa, and the world. May we continue to raise our voice against gender-based violence, physical, verbal…

Staff writer UN Secretary-General António Guterres used his World Press Freedom Day address yesterday to underscore the importance of reliable, verified and accessible information. “During the pandemic, and in other crises including the climate emergency, journalists and media workers help us navigate a fast-changing and often overwhelming landscape of information, while addressing dangerous inaccuracies and falsehoods. “Free and independent journalism is our greatest ally in combating misinformation and disinformation,” he said. This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, “Information as a Public Good”, serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind. Yesterday marked the adoption…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za A RAPE survivor has told of the secondary abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of Site B police in Khayelitsha who she claims told her that she looked “too relaxed” and that she should investigate her own rape case, when she tried to report the matter. The woman, who wants to remain anonymous for fear of further victimisation, said she was at a popular recreational establishment in Khayelitsha on March 27 when she and a friend met the man who later that evening sexually and physically assaulted her. “I was with my friend that evening when she introduced me to the suspect. My friend and I then went to the bathroom and left our drinks with him. “When we returned he said he was leaving…

Staff writer THE SA Poultry Association has confirmed a second outbreak of avian flu at a broiler breeder farm on the East Rand. The farm is under quarantine and the birds are being culled, it said. “This outbreak is in the same compartment as the first layer (hen) outbreak, and should not materially affect current trade restrictions already in place from neighbouring countries. “The effects on the ongoing supply of broiler meat are minimal, and consumers are assured that broiler meat and eggs remain safe to eat provided proper cooking protocols are observed, with temperatures exceeding 60ºC achieved,” the association said. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development last month reported avian flu on a commercial farm in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. It around 300 birds died, and samples from…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za DURING her visit to three vaccination sites in the province yesterday, State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said a large batch of vaccines from Pfizer would arrive on May 17 for phase 2 of the vaccine roll-out. Dlodlo visited Khayelitsha, Tygerberg and Groote Schuur hospitals to inspect and monitor the vaccination roll-out programme in the province. According to the province’s Covid-19 dashboard, there have been 11 627 deaths and 270 595 recoveries, with 1 941 active cases recorded. Dlodlo said a lot of hard work had led to the province being ready to roll out the vaccination programme. “The first (phase) started with health-care workers but I am told here at Groote Schuur they have started with private practitioners as well and brought them into the programme for…

Sachin Thakur CONTRARY to popular belief, the future is not on hold. It is simply a new normal that we must navigate with our ingenuity. Water, the lifeblood of the economy, is a challenge we must be prepared for. Fresh water will soon outperform oil in terms of profitability. The notion that one gets crude oil for free and pay for water prevails in the Middle East. However, multiple Day Zeros are emerging, raising legitimate concerns over water security. An emerging opportunity is electric vehicles. The fuel infrastructure in South Africa is exceptional, with a dedicated pipeline connecting Johannesburg and Durban. Electric vehicles will, in time, render the pipeline infrastructure, along with petrol stations and petrol attendant jobs, obsolete. Given the impending scenario, could we repurpose the fuel infrastructure…

WITH the winter season approaching, the government, citizens and other stakeholders have an important role to play in ensuring that the death, suffering and destruction playing out in India due to the all-engulfing second wave of Covid-19 does not happen in this country. The resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in India has come after a lull in infections, with the country now recording more than 400 000 new daily infections. The situation, which has been worsened by overcrowding, is so severe that hospitals, testing facilities and crematoriums are battling to cope. Given the similarities in the socio-economic conditions between the two countries, it goes without saying that the South African government and scientists have an obligation to carefully interrogate what led to the current tragic state of affairs in India…

Britain’s Prince Harry joined pop royalty including Jennifer Lopez at a star-studded concert in Los Angeles on Sunday to urge faster and more even global vaccinations, as he voiced support for India during its devastating Covid-19 outbreak. “Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World” featured video messages from the pope and US President Joe Biden and appearances from Hollywood stars such as Ben Affleck and Sean Penn. The show will air on television and YouTube on May 8, after being pre-taped in front of thousands of fully-vaccinated spectators at a vast California stadium. “Tonight, we stand in solidarity with the millions of families across India, who are battling a devastating second wave,” said Prince Harry, who was greeted with a standing ovation. “The virus does not respect borders, and…

Jerusalem: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he would let his estranged former protege Naftali Bennett serve as premier ahead of him in a coalition to prevent a “left-wing government”. But Bennett, a right-wing nationalist who emerged as a kingmaker following Israel’s inconclusive March 23 vote, dampened the notion that a deal with Netanyahu was in the works. After his Likud party won the most seats in the vote, Netanyahu earned a 28-day mandate to form a coalition which expires at midnight. Bennett said his priority was to end Israel’s political gridlock. | AFP…

LOS ANGELES: The US this week will reunite four migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border during the Trump administration, US officials said, a small step toward fulfilling a campaign promise by President Joe Biden. The families will be allowed to enter the US through an emergency process known as “humanitarian parole”. The US Department of Homeland Security is considering whether they could be granted longer-term immigration status. The American Civil Liberties Union said it did not know how many children remain separated from parents but that the number was likely more than 1 000. | Reuters…

Mogadishu: Somalia’s prime minister has invited regional leaders to a fresh round of negotiations in the hope of resolving a protracted feud over elections that sparked violence in the capital. The country is experiencing its worst political crisis in years, with fighting erupting in Mogadishu last week after the president extended his mandate by two years without going to elections. Opposition fighters remain in the capital even after President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed backed away from the mandate extension at the weekend and agreed to hold a fresh vote. Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble had invited the leaders of Somalia’s five semi-autonomous states to roundtable talks later this month. | AFP…

Zaahier Adams Mamelodi Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi has warned his team to remain humble as they close in on a record 400th victory in the DStv Premiership. Following their 3-0 humiliation of Orlando Pirates on Sunday, Sundowns achieved their 399th league win. The Brazilians will look to rewrite the history books when they face Maritzburg United tomorrow. Mngqithi was, though, not happy with his team's showboating during the victory over the Buccaneers as it did not represent the type of sportsmanship he is renowned for. "When we win we must always win with a lot of humility," Mngqithi said. "I was not happy with the sounds the players were making when we were keeping possession. That is a sign of arrogance and personally I am someone who doesn't like…

Eshlin Vedan Kaizer Chiefs veteran Bernard Parker is confident the Soweto club will shake off their mental block as they face struggling Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila at Peter Mokaba Stadium today. Amakhosi have won just one out of their last five Premiership matches, and today’s game against the relegation candidates provides them with a good opportunity to return to winning ways. Chiefs can also take heart from the fact that they thrashed TTM 3-0 when the teams last met in January. “Right now, what we do more of is mental preparation which will be key for us. It’s coming along because we are showing the fighting spirit and we are showing the will. Our effort on the field of play is good. Here and there, we do make mistakes, hence the…

ATTACQ, the real estate investment trust (Reit) that holds Mall of Africa and Waterfall City among its assets, said the easing of lockdown restrictions from March 1 had resulted in a marked improvement in trading density growth at its retail centres. All its tenants were able to trade with minimal restrictions, the group said yesterday in an update of its retail portfolio's trading performance, and progress made to improve its capital structure. At Mall of Africa, trading density improved 33 percent versus March 2020, compared with a 0.8 percent decline recorded in February over the same month a year before, and a 14.1 percent decline in January on the same basis. Brooklyn Mall saw trading density up 7 percent on the same basis, compared with a…

Zanele Mvana zanele.mvana@inl.co.za EIGHTEEN-year-old Uzayr Lee of Ocean View has been awarded the opportunity to study abroad and play soccer for two years at Patrick Henry Community College in Virginia in the US. He now needs the funding to make his dreams come true. Lee said he started playing soccer at the age of seven, and it had always been a sport he was fond of. “I started playing at a young age, locally at Ocean View, and then moving on to Ubuntu Football Academy, which is where I was given the opportunity to study in the US like the other 14 boys who attended the academy,” he said. He added that he was very excited when he found out about the opportunity and decided to go for it. His…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za FORMER Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) group chief executive Lucky Montana said he was disappointed with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s testimony last week. He said the ANC leader missed an opportunity to tell the truth before Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Montana, who testified at the Zondo Commission yesterday, was responding to allegations that the ANC received R80 million from Swifambo Rails – a company that was awarded a R3.5 billion tender for the procurement of locomotives. Montana said the ANC did not want to admit it, but the party had a huge influence on state-owned enterprises (SOEs). He said it was “a way of life” in the ANC to use public funds to finance its political activities and for ANC leaders to advance…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za IN A first of its kind, three accused human traffickers will go on trial in the Western Cape High Court later this month – three years after their initial arrest. The trio face a total of 40 charges including human trafficking, debt bondage, using the services of a victim of human trafficking, living on the earnings of prostitution, kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, six counts of rape and dealing in drugs. Edward Ayuk, Leandra Ayuk and Yannick Ayuk are set to appear in the high court after they were arrested in September 2018 in the Northern Cape by the Hawks’ Anti-Human Trafficking Unit. According to court documents, the youngest human trafficking victim was 15 years old and was sexually exploited after being recruited…

Staff writer THE Aliwal Shoal on the KwaZulu- Natal South Coast has recently been found to be home to a number of highly-endangered shortfin devil rays, which use the area as a cleaning station. KZN diver and PhD student specialising in sharks and rays, Michelle Carpenter, said that Aliwal Shoal has even more diversity in terms of rays than it does sharks. “At the time, I didn’t realise how many rays lived in and frequented Aliwal Shoal. But I’ve been working on my project for over a year now, which means visiting the site almost daily for field work, and have been overwhelmed by the incredible ray diversity as well as the numbers being encountered.” Rays are dorsal-ventrally compressed, or flattened sharks, and both sharks and rays belong to the…

Staff writer INNOVATIVE research under way could change the lives of millions of people by reducing the risk of hearing loss caused by personal audio systems. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Pretoria (UP) have made headway in understanding the accuracy and reliability of sound-level monitoring earphones and the effect of smartphone feedback as an intervention to encourage safe listening use among young people. “This is an applied solution to the real-world problem of hearing loss for more than a billion young people at risk,” said Professor De Wet Swanepoel of UP’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, who led the study. The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Ear and Hearing. More than a billion adolescents and young people are estimated to…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za A PATIENT has expressed dismay at the way she was treated by nurses at the Old Crossroads and Nyanga clinics, saying they were unfriendly and impatient. The patient, who has spoken on condition that her name not be published because she is afraid of further victimisation, said she was referred to the two clinics for treatment by the Khayelitsha District Hospital (KDH) and a private doctor. “On Monday I was supposed to go to my local clinic to retrieve my results for tuberculosis (TB) after being hospitalised in KDH for two weeks. I was diagnosed with bronchitis and tested for TB, and was told to fetch my results at my local clinic after a week. “After being discharged from the hospital I was still not well, thus…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE HAWKS have confirmed they are investigating allegations of misappropriation of the City’s Humanitarian Funds involving a church in Table View. In a statement, Good Party secretary-general Brett Herron said it was alleged that funds allocated to humanitarian relief were paid to an organisation in Atlantis and then immediately transferred to the church minus a fee. “We can only confirm the matter is under investigation,” Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said. Herron alleged the church was not entitled to the money. “The transfer of the funds to the church, which was not lawfully entitled to receive public funds, was picked up in the course of an investigation into Ters fraud. “DA councillors are said to have been involved in identifying the church as the end-recipient of the funds,…

South Africa is a country that is notorious for its levels of gender-based violence Amanda Gouws The SAPS statistics for reported rape cases for 2019/2020 is 42 289 and for sexual assault 7 749 (Department of Police, 2020), amid a huge under reporting of rape. Intimate femicide is five times the global average. Of reported rape cases, only about 14% goes to trial and there are convictions in only about 7% of these cases. There is indeed a high attrition rate. The 2016 #EndRapeCulture and the 2017 #TotalShutdown campaigns were the push back from women against the normalisation of sexual violence. Protests against GBV often demand retributive justice or punishment for perpetrators with greater incarceration and harsher sentencing. Other campaigns demand restorative justice to restore the…

India postponed exams for trainee doctors and nurses yesterday, freeing them up to fight the world’s biggest surge in coronavirus infections, as the health system crumbles under the weight of new cases and hospitals run out of beds and oxygen. The total number of infections so far rose to just short of 20 million, propelled by a 12th straight day of more than 300 000 new cases in a pandemic sparked by a virus first identified in central China at the end of 2019. Medical experts say actual numbers could be five to 10 times higher. Hospitals have filled to capacity, supplies of medical oxygen have run short, and morgues and crematoriums have been overloaded with corpses. Patients are dying on hospital beds, in ambulances and in car parks outside.…

Taliban insurgents attacked an army outpost in Afghanistan’s south-western Farah province killing at least seven soldiers, local officials said yesterday, as the country braces for violence after May 1, a previously agreed deadline for foreign troop withdrawal. Farah Governor Taj Mohammad Jahid said the Taliban had blown up an army outpost after digging a 400m tunnel to access it from a nearby house. He added that one soldier had also been captured by the insurgents. Two local officials, one speaking on condition of anonymity, said dozens of military, including elite commando forces, had been killed. Provincial council member Khayer Mohammad Noorzai said around 30 had died in the attack and that the base was in the hands of the Taliban. Officials said a blast in the province’s capital yesterday…

MELBOURNE: A leading Myanmar swimmer has called for an international boycott of his country’s Olympic committee, branding it a “puppet” of the southeast Asian nation’s military rulers. Australia-based Win Htet Oo said he had given up his dream of swimming at the Tokyo Olympics in protest at the junta which seized power in February and has killed hundreds in a crackdown on dissent. “I believe that the Myanmar Olympic Committee as it is currently recognised should be expelled immediately from any international sporting events,” said Win Hte. The 26-year-old swam for Myanmar at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines where he posted an Olympic qualifying ‘B’ time in the 50m freestyle, which would allow him to compete at Tokyo on invitation by world swimming governing body FINA. However,…

PARIS: An anti-corruption group has submitted a legal complaint in France against Lebanon’s central bank governor over foreign investments, including property he owns worth millions of euros, two people involved in the filing said yesterday. Sherpa, a non-governmental organisation, said that it had filed the complaint over “suspicious” real estate purchases in France. Central Bank Governor Riad Salemeh said he had proved and shown documents highlighting that the source of his wealth was acquired before taking up his post in 1993. | Reuters…

MANCHESTER United will punish fans who committed criminal acts during the protests on Sunday which led to the Premier League game against Liverpool being postponed, the club said yesterday. United fans protesting against the club’s American owners, the Glazer family, stormed into the stadium which was closed to fans due to Covid-19 restrictions. “The majority of our fans have and will condemn criminal damage, along with any violence towards club staff, police or other fans, and these now become a police matter,” United said in a statement. “The club has no desire to see peaceful protestors punished, but will work with the police to identify those involved in criminal activity, and will also issue its own sanctions to any season ticket holder or member identified, per the published sanctions policy,”…